Established: DecemberEmployees: about 20Location: 1351 North Main St., MantecaWebsite: www.erniesfoodandspirits.com

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Ernie's Food and spirits

Established: December

Employees: about 20

Location: 1351 North Main St., Manteca

Website: www.ernies

foodandspirits.com

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MANTECA - Starting with its name - "manteca" is the Spanish word for lard, after all - the city of Manteca has not built a reputation for fine dining outside its borders.

But Ernie's Food & Spirits was made to be a dining destination, complete with top-notch ingredients, top-shelf liquor, a growing top-flight wine list and a head chef best known for his stint on the reality television series "Top Chef."

The idea is to create a restaurant worth the drive from Lodi, Stockton or Modesto but with enough down-home cooking that neighbors feel at home becoming regulars.

"There is a lot of fusion going on in some dishes. At the same time, there are a lot of meat-and-potato-type dishes," said executive chef Michael Midgley Jr., 35, who lives in Stockton and was a contestant on the second season of Bravo's "Top Chef."

Opened in December, the restaurant offers what Midgley calls "California modern" cuisine, and it does it using only the best ingredients, he said.

"If you're a connoisseur of beef, ... the Kobe-style beef is second to none," he said. "You can really taste the difference."

The restaurant bakes its own bread every day and has an in-house pastry chef for desserts.

Presentation of the dishes is a point of pride, too, Midgley said.

The attention to detail extends to the restaurant's interior, a warm mix of earth tones and muted lighting hidden at the back of a deep strip mall parking lot, next to a casino housed in a former movie theater.

"Our key to success is to put out a good, quality product," said manager Bryan Soria, 39. The food is good, the staff is knowledgeable and the atmosphere is welcoming, he said.

"You can have fine dining and feel comfortable," he said. "Ernie's is a unique experience; it really is."

The bar offers specialty cocktails, but what sets it apart is a collection of spirits, including 40-year-old Scotches, bourbons and cognacs and a collection of hard-to-find bottles.

"They can get things here that they won't be able to get anyplace else," said Dennis Williams 52. The Manteca resident is an investor in the restaurant, with the idea that got it started, he said.

The rarest cognacs are part of the restaurant's decoration, but Williams said they are available in case anyone is interested in trying something that will be "a once-in-a-lifetime experience."